Federated Hermes Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. reduced its stake in CF Industries Holdings, Inc. by 66.4%, selling 108,277 shares and retaining 54,845 shares worth approximately $4.28 million after the sale.
• Analyst ratings for CF Industries have varied, with Wells Fargo raising its price target to $108 and JPMorgan upgrading their rating to neutral, reflecting a mixture of positive and cautious sentiments in the market.
• CF Industries will issue a quarterly dividend of $0.50 per share on August 29, with a yield of 2.1%, and has initiated a stock repurchase program allowing up to $2 billion in share buybacks.

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in shares of CF Industries Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:CF - Free Report) by 66.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,845 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 108,277 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in CF Industries were worth $4,286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in CF Industries by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,830,621 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $753,429,000 after acquiring an additional 543,876 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of CF Industries by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,425,518 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $377,585,000 after purchasing an additional 150,461 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in CF Industries by 29.4% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,804,718 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $239,299,000 after acquiring an additional 637,784 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of CF Industries by 72.8% in the first quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,278,354 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $178,053,000 after acquiring an additional 959,901 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in CF Industries by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,248,740 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $191,862,000 after buying an additional 71,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.06% of the company's stock.

CF Industries Stock Performance

CF traded down $6.76 on Thursday, reaching $83.14. The company had a trading volume of 5,828,018 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,733,305. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.09 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95 and a beta of 0.94. CF Industries Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $67.34 and a 1 year high of $104.45. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $85.65.

CF Industries (NYSE:CF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The basic materials company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.35 by $0.02. CF Industries had a net margin of 21.80% and a return on equity of 17.39%. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 20.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that CF Industries Holdings, Inc. will post 5.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

CF Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 29th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. CF Industries's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.35%.

CF Industries announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 7th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the basic materials company to reacquire up to 14.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on CF shares. Wolfe Research downgraded CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "peer perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 12th. Oppenheimer lowered CF Industries from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $95.00 target price on CF Industries and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of CF Industries from $105.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of CF Industries from $91.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $95.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at CF Industries

In related news, EVP Susan L. Menzel sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.23, for a total value of $1,002,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 87,923 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,812,522.29. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

CF Industries Profile

CF Industries Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the manufacture and sale of hydrogen and nitrogen products for energy, fertilizer, emissions abatement, and other industrial activities in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through Ammonia, Granular Urea, UAN, AN, and Other segments.